Ballston

Smoke Fills Ballston Metro Station Tunnel, Causing Delays

By Airey
1/5

(Updated at 9:27 a.m.) Commuters on Metro’s Orange and Silver lines faced minor delays this morning after smoke filled the tunnels of the Ballston station.

A Metro spokeswoman told ARLnow that a train suffered a brake malfunction and offloaded passengers at the station.

“The fans will be turned on and the smoke will dissipate,” said the spokesman. He added he not aware of any health concerns for those who breathed in the smoke.

As of 9 a.m. the gray smoke was still visible and smelled of burning rubber, but crowds has dissipated and first responders had left the scene.

https://twitter.com/BarisTezgel1/status/1146040674447482882?s=20

First responders were dispatched to the scene around 8:45 a.m. this morning to reports of smoke filling the tunnel.

Metro-tracking bot Metro Hero Alerts reported that a train went out of service at the Ballston station at 8:43 a.m. this morning and that riders disembarked the train at the station.

Outside, one commuter ditched Metro and was waiting on an Uber to get to work.

“I could smell it going down,” Ashley McMahon said of the smoke as she walked down the escalator to the tunnel earlier that morning. “There was a lot of people.”

Photo courtesy of Ashley McMahon

9Round Fitness Closes in Arlington

By Vernon Miles
1/5

Almost exactly five years after it first launched in Courthouse, kickboxing gym franchise 9Round has left Arlington.

At one point, 9Round had three locations in the county, in Courthouse, Ballston and Columbia Pike. All three are now shuttered.

A letter in the window at the Courthouse location (2250 Clarendon Blvd) confirmed the closure was permanent.

“We regret to inform you that 9Round NoVa will be closing, with our last day of training on Saturday, June 22,” the sign reads. “We want to thank you all for your loyalty and patronage!”

A email address listed on the sign, for patrons to seek additional information, is no longer active. Phone numbers for the Arlington locations go straight to voicemail and their respective webpages are no longer active.

Both the locations at 927 N. Quincy Street in Ballston and the original location at Courthouse were locked up and in the midst of having gym equipment packed up.

The Columbia Pike location (2501 9th Road S.) closed earlier this year and is already in the process of being converted into an F45 gym, though the website says the gym is not yet open.

Ashley Hopko contributed to this story

Arlingtonian Buzzes into Jeopardy! Next Month

By Vernon Miles

If you tune in to Jeopardy! on Wednesday, July 17, you’ll have a local to root for.

Roey Hadar, a 23-year-old journalist at WETA-TV, represented Arlington during the game show taping in March, though the episode won’t premiere until next month.

Hadar couldn’t say anything about his clues or the results of the game — you’ll just have to see for yourself.

“I had tried out a few times before I got the call, and even then it took roughly two years to get to the point where they called me back,” Hadar said. “I was outside Navy Yard Metro station. It wasn’t a call I was expecting. My girlfriend was there with me, and right before she called the Uber I got the call from L.A. I know my spam calls well, so I picked up and on the other line was a contestant coordinator.”

It had been over 18 months since — the tail end of when you can usually expect to hear back if you got onto Jeopardy! after an audition — and Hadar hadn’t heard anything. And when Hadar said he’d heard about Alex Trebek’s cancer diagnosis, he was worried if he did get to play it wouldn’t be without the legendary host at the helm. Hadar was preparing to take the online test again when the call came in.

The coordinator ran Hadar through some biographical changes. There had been quite a few changes since he first took the test online in April 2017. He moved from New Jersey to Ballston, for one, and he’d gone from a student to working at the WETA show Washington Week.

Because Hadar worked for a TV station, he had to check with his office to see if it would be all right to go, but Hadar said his boss was insistent that he go be on the show. He had two weeks notice, so Hadar binge-watched the show, standing in front of the TV with a spotlight on his face and pressing down on a spring-loaded toilet paper holder to try and get the answers before the contestants.

Hadar said the TV production aspect of the show wasn’t a shock because of his work experience, and years of quiz bowl in high school and at Georgetown University prepared him for handling the buzzer, but seeing the game show from another angle was the biggest surprise.

“It felt like the game had come to life around me,” Hadar said. “It was surreal being up there and actually having to call out clues and facing the wrong way — seeing the board and set in a certain way — there was a bit of a shock seeing everything in a reverse angle.”

Despite being a competition, Hadar said everyone from the staff to the other contestants were incredibly friendly.

After getting home from the show, Hadar said he thought he’d have Jeopardy! fatigue, but instead he’s found himself locked in — watching the rise of fall of James Holzhauer in the time between his show taping and the air date.

“I always had a great respect for contestants, but now I feel like I can better put myself in their shoes,” Hadar said. “I can see how when players are stressing or when they’re trying to frantically hit the buzzer but they rang in too early; things that are a little more subtle that you’d know from playing it.”

But that doesn’t stop Hadar from shouting answers at the television like everyone else, he said.

Photo courtesy Roey Hadar

Ballston-based Cybersecurity Company Receives Investment Boost

By Vernon Miles

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

Updated 3:35 p.m. — Ballston-based ThreatConnect — a cybersecurity company helping other companies fend off hackers — is planning to ramp up its operations thanks to an investment from Providence Strategic Growth (PSG).

ThreatConnect specializes in cybersecurity “intelligence,” where the information on incoming threats is collected across member organizations and spread across the network, so information gained from an attack on one company can be used to defend the others.

The company started in Shirlington but has since moved to its current headquarters in Ballston. But while ThreatConnect’s location may have changed, CEO and Co-Founder Adam Vincent said its core strategy has not.

“We have had the same vision since we released the first version of the ThreatConnect Platform in 2013,” Vincent said in an email. “We were a step ahead of the market then, and I feel we are still in front of the market today. Our vision is, and was, to improve decision-making in cyber — giving the business the ability to make smarter, faster decisions and act on them quickly — all without adding additional personnel.”

Even though the mission hasn’t changed, the client base has expanded.

“While in the beginning, we were an obvious choice for large enterprises, we see more mid-size companies choosing ThreatConnect,” Vincent said. “We are seeing more verticals — for example, healthcare, utilities — in addition to all the financial and retail companies we have served for years. Given the current security climate, all organizations are realizing that a security program is not a ‘nice to have’ but a ‘need to have’ in order to grow their own business.”

The exact amount of the investment isn’t being disclosed — a common trend among recent investments — but Vincent said PSG is fully committed to the company’s strategic growth.

“We chose them as a strategic partner, not just another investor, because we know their support will be ongoing,” Vincent said. “PSG appreciates our value proposition — to change how businesses manage their security — which was a driver for them investing.”

After the investment, Vincent said ThreatConnect will begin accelerating its current strategy. In a blog post, the company said it will be making new investments in data sources to provide more information for operational and tactical decision making.

But as ThreatConnect grows, it has no plans to leave Arlington.

“We think Arlington is a great place to work, whether in cybersecurity or another vertical,” Vincent said. “It is close and very accessible to D.C., but not too close. And, though our business is worldwide, we choose to have our headquarters in Arlington. It’s our home. It seems like a great central location for most of the staff that comes into the office. The immediate area around the office has grown and changed a great deal in just the short time we have been here — and everyone appreciates the new food/drink options that have recently opened or are about to open.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Columbia Pike Flooding — Columbia Pike flooded near S. Greenbrier Street during last night’s storms. Drivers could be seen driving through standing water as high as the tops of car tires. [Twitter]

Another Flash Flood Watch — Arlington is again under a Flash Flood Watch from 2-11 p.m. today, as slow-moving storms may produce torrential, flooding rainfalls. [Weather.gov, Twitter]

County to Tackle Premature Tree Deaths — “‘The county is not taking adequate care of its newly planted trees,’ said [Elizabeth] Grossman, a member of the Arlington Tree Action Group, who said that while there were many reasons trees may not survive after being planted, the death rate on Arlington government property seems excessive.” [InsideNova]

Fire at Ballston Building — “Firefighters are on scene of a fire at a high-rise residential building on the 800 block of N. Quincy Street in Ballston. Reportedly a small fire in one of the units.” [Twitter, Twitter]

One Reason Arlington Landed HQ2 — “A West Coast economist’s ideas challenge the ‘world is flat’ conventional wisdom about tech jobs. They’re a major part of the reason Arlington landed Amazon.” [Washingtonian, Twitter]

Retiring Superintendent Has a New Gig — Last week, Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick K. Murphy told the School Board he would be retiring in September. On Sept. 1, he will begin his new job as superintendent of Berkeley County Schools in West Virginia. [Berkeley County Schools]

Cheesetique Closes Ballston Location

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Cheese store and wine bar Cheesetique has closed its Ballston location at 800 N. Glebe Road after three years in business.

The restaurant served its last customers last night (Sunday), though the company’s Shirlington and Alexandria locations remain open.

Restaurants on the western side of N. Glebe Road have struggled to stay in business amid an increasing number of dining options on the other side of the busy street, closer to the bulk of Ballston’s office and apartment buildings.

More on the closure from Cheesetique’s Facebook page:

After three years in operation, Cheesetique Ballston will be closing after dinner service this Sunday, June 16th.

We’re sad to leave our Ballston neighborhood, but hope you can come by for one last visit this weekend. And after that, we look forward to hosting you at one of our other cheese-tastic locations (Cheesetique Del Ray, Cheesetique Shirlington, Cheesetique Mosaic).

Thank you to all of our loyal Ballston patrons. We’ll see you soon!

Fate of Ball Burial Ground Uncertain as Development Nears

By Airey
1/10

Development may be surging around the Ball Family Burial Grounds on N. Kirkwood Street, but the fate of the historic site remains uncertain.

The gravesite of the family who is the namesake for Ballston is located in the middle of Virginia Square’s newest development hub, which includes plans to rebuild the YMCA and repurpose American Legion Post 139 as mixed residential buildings.

The Arlington County Board is also set to vote Saturday to approve a third project in the area: a long-standing application by Eleventh Street Development LLC to redevelop the 1.726 acre site located at 1122 N. Kirkwood Road at Washington Boulevard, currently a mix of one-story retail and office uses, into a new 255-unit multifamily residential building.

But when it comes to the plan for the cemetery — which is adjacent to the new development —  the county is at an impasse, according to Richard Woodruff, chairman of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB). The county can’t legally access the land to maintain it or take actions to preserve it because it was deeded to the heirs of John Ball who founded it in the 1700s.

The problem? No one knows who those heirs are.

During a Thursday visit to the grounds, Woodruff pointed out how wild strawberries have overgrown the gravesites’ grass and a secret Samaritan has been mowing the plot.

“It’s sort of now a mystery as to who maintains it,” he said.

However, other site maintenance issues are piling up. Broken branches rest on the dozen mossy grave stones piled in the far corner of the burial ground where the grass grows higher and trash accumulates.

HALRB and the Arlington Planning Commission have asked the county to hire a genealogist to locate the Ball family heirs. They added that the county should also create a fund to maintain the land and study what could be buried in the cemetery because people have moved the graves over time.

These recommendations are not included in the list of actions for the Board members to review this weekend.

A staff report to the Board notes that one of the project’s goals is to “preserve, respect and enhance the historic integrity” of the gravesite. But aside from asking developers to follow protocols if they find artifacts or human remains during construction, the document is short on specifics.

(more…)

‘Medina’ Shwarma Eatery in Ballston Now Closed

By Vernon Miles
1/2

Medina, a small eatery offering “shwarma, falafel and beyond” at 4215 Fairfax Drive in Ballston, is closed and entirely vacated.

The sign still remains above the building, but all remnants of the restaurant, except a now-outdated “Open 7 Days/Week” sign, have been removed and the inside is completely empty.

It was a short life for the eatery that opened in August, replacing Earl’s Sandwiches.

The restaurant was fairly highly rated, receiving four stars on Yelp with users calling it a good spot for chicken shwarma that wouldn’t break the bank.

Introducing Mary Di Masi, CNM to Capital Women’s Division 67 — Ballston

Midwives are known to have great patient outcomes.

Practices incorporating Certified Nurse-Midwives or CNMs can boast a lower overall cesarean section rate, lower episiotomy rates and higher breast-feeding rates. This type of practice, where physicians and CNMs work together to meet patient needs, is known as a collaborative care practice.

This November it was decided that our division would become a collaborative care practice. This was in response to patients stated desires to have readily available midwifery care and a desire to provide the highest quality of care for all patients.

Mary Di Masi practiced as a Registered Nurse and then went on to earn her graduate degree in Nursing with a focus on midwifery studies. This extended education and subsequent board certification allows her to work with low-risk pregnancies independently and can allow her to co-manage higher risk pregnancies alongside our physicians.

What most people don’t realize is that CNMs can also take care of many of your gynecological needs. From the onset of puberty through menopause, CNMs have the skills and education to take care of patients at every step of their journey.

Mary’s prior experience as a Forensic Nurse Examiner means she has great skills and sensitivity, including gentle pelvic exams. As a CNM her passion includes helping families grow as they want to, by helping them find the contraceptive method that works best for them.

Shared decision making with her patients is a key part of her practice, meaning she strives to find the unique care plan to meet your individual needs.

Another perk of being cared for in a collaborative practice means that with Mary as your care provider, should you develop a high-risk complication or need surgical expertise, your care remains seamlessly within our division as you will see one of our Board-Certified Physicians.

Mary even has early morning appointments to accommodate your busy life and work schedule.

Please visit us at capitalwomenscareobgyn67.com or call 571-650-9070 to book an appointment with a midwife today.

Pop-Up Library Planned for Ballston Quarter

By Vernon Miles
1/2

Ballston Quarter could soon be home to a temporary pop-up library.

According to an Arlington County Board agenda item, the owner of Ballston Quarter mall and the Ballston Business Improvement District invited Arlington Public Library to create a temporary pop-up library in unoccupied retail space on the street level of the mall.

“The use of the newly renovated mall space is being offered to the County for one month at no cost,” the agenda item noted. “The county will be permitted to open a new pop-up library location within the mall for a period beginning on July 1 through August 2, 2019.”

Library services could include a small collection of books and audio-visual materials along with technology access. The library would be open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The space will be provided by mall management at no cost to the county, while the operation of the library will be paid from the library’s general operating funds.

This would not be the first pop-up library in retail space. In 2016, Arlington County opened a pop-up library in Crystal City Shops that has since been extended through 2019.

New Pizza and Beer Restaurant Set to Open in Ballston Next Year

By ARLnow.com
1/6

A new pizza restaurant and beer hall is coming to Ballston next year, according to a set of mustachioed storefront wrappings.

Window dressing on 4001 Fairfax Drive Pizza announced that “Quincy Hall” is slated to open in the ground floor of the Quincy Street Station in early 2020. The pizza and beer joint is slated to open in the same space once occupied by Thai restaurant Tara Temple, which closed two years ago.

Tara Temple’s distinctive red metal awning still decorates the suite’s front doors, but the windows are now blocked with polka-dotted paper with the new eatery’s name and mustachioed characters.

Information on the new eatery is scarce. As of Wednesday, the website on the storefront wrapping was listed as a parked domain and did not contain any information except for an animated GIF of a sleepy kitten falling over.

The restaurant is slated to open next to the new Bright Horizons daycare, which is coming to the adjoining suite of the building that the County Board approved over some neighborhood objections in January. Bright Horizons plans to care for 145 children and build a 4,700-square-foot playground in the courtyard near the side entrance of Quincy Hall.

Local nightlife, fitness and tonsorial mogul Scott Parker, who is working to open a new German beer hall called Bronson nearby in the former A-Town space, said he welcomed the addition to the increasingly crowded Ballston nightlife and restaurant scene. More going-out options could help previously workaday Ballston establish itself as an after-hours destination like Clarendon, he said.

“That’s the hope, that the neighborhood will become such a draw that it will help everyone,” Parker told ARLnow, adding that he isn’t worried about the competition.

Parker said Quincy Hall was being opened by Tin Shop, the same company that’s behind Penn Social and the popular Franklin Hall beer hall in D.C., as well as Highline RxR in Crystal City, though thus far that could not be independently confirmed by ARLnow.

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